Los Angeles Rams 90-Man Roster Preview: Offensive Tackle Bobby Evans

The Rams went ahead and drafted two linemen in this year’s NFL Draft, among those linemen was the third-round pick out of Oklahoma, Bobby Evans. Evans is billed as the high upside and athletic tackle that could kick inside to play guard if need be. Evans while toolsy, still has plenty of room for growth. Here is our preview on Evans as he heads into his rookie year.

College Career

Evans started three years at tackle for the Oklahoma Sooners. Once 2018 rolled along, Evans was flexed out to left tackle to replace the newly-drafted tackle Orlando Brown.

In 2015, Evans was forced to sit and watch from the sidelines in what would become the four-star high school recruit’s redshirt season. The season after would be his redshirt freshman season. Evans would be named an honorable mention All-Big 12 tackle by the coaches after starting in 12 of the 13 games at right tackle that year. It’s worth mentioning Evans had his head on straight, he pulled in the honors of All-Big 12 First Team Academic honoree.

In 2017, Evans would once again receive an honorable mention for the All-Big 12 tackle selection. He kept up his success in the classroom as well, grabbing the All-Big 12 Second Team Academic honoree. Evans displayed his overall durability in his sophomore season as he started in all 14 games for the Sooners at right tackle.

Evans redshirt junior year would, of course, be his best yet. The former four-star high school recruit had really made a name for himself after starting off his career as a redshirt. Evans officially moved over to the left tackle position to protect new starting quarterback Kyler Murray‘s blindside. Evans thrived in this year’s role which ultimately ended up in a second-team All-Big 12 selection after once again, starting all 14 games in the season.

All of this would eventually lead to the Rams selection of Evans in the third round. It’s fair to say Evans might not have been the flashiest choice, but the former Sooner blindside protector brings a lot of upside and durability to the table.

Roster Battle

Evans will battle his fellow draftee David Edwards for the primary backup tackle spot. Right now, Edwards absolutely has an early preseason hold of it but as Evans gets more acclimated and comfortable he could definitely make a play. Evans is an absolute lock to make the team being a third-round pick the Rams traded up to get. However, it’s not guaranteed that Evans will even have a role this year. The way the team is right now if there are zero injuries the Rams may never play their third-round pick.

Three Plays on Tape

Getting into Bobby Evans of OU (RT 71). Prototypical size for an OT in a spread system (6-5 300lbs). I don't think he will test that great, but he knows how to play within himself. Here's a nice rep against OSU's Nick Bosa. pic.twitter.com/7n557BQeSF

This is a great rep by Bobby Evans while operating at right tackle. He goes up against one of the best pass rushers in the draft and absolutely dominates him. The kick slide works to perfection and he makes taking care of Bosa look eerily easy. It shouldn’t ever look that easy when playing against a Bosa. Now, you can see why the Rams liked what he could bring to the table with top-notch pass-protection reps.

This is what ultimately bothers me and is one of the main reasons I didn’t love the pick of Evans in the third round via a trade up in the first place. Evans is very inconsistent. He can dominate Nick Bosa on one snap and then turn around and let L.J. Collier dive right underneath him on the next snap. It’s very aggravating because if Evans played more consistently he would have been a first-round pick. Still though, this is a perfect reason why Evans needs to improve before he gets the nod at left tackle. If he gets the nod at left tackle.

Oklahoma's OL was stacked but the guy with the least hype is Bobby Evans, LT #71.

This is quite the comeback from Bobby Evans here. Oklahoma is taking on the West Virginia Mountaineers here and it looks like Evans is in immediate trouble. He ends up taking this speed-to-power pass rush move right to the chest. Evans, while being pushed back doesn’t fret and is able to eventually gain control back and win the rep. This is a great recovery app from Evans.

Biggest Question

Where do the Rams truly envision Bobby Evans moving forward? That is the biggest question for the former Sooner. Evans has the athleticism, the fluidity and the overall upside but there are some quirks to Evans game that may never be fixed. With that being said, Evans role could emerge big time this year and he could become a steal of the draft.

2019 Outlook and Role

Evans role in 2019 is going to be as a backup that is focused on soaking up everything the veterans do and being like them one day. There is a good chance that David Edwards will have a leg up on the competition but Evans will be someone to monitor.

Chances of Making Final Roster

A 100 percent lock. That’s definitely not changing after the Rams traded up with the New England Patriots to acquire Bobby Evans. Evans is a player as mentioned before with unique athleticism, fluidity and strength. It’s unlikely Evans is cut from this team anytime soon. The Rams won’t wait forever for the Evans ascension to start, but they might just wait long enough to find out whether or not it was worth exploring.

About Post Author

Jake is a 23-year old sportscaster from Upstate New York that co-hosts the Downtown Rams podcast, is the founder of Downtown Rams and Downtown Sports Network LLC. He covers the Rams and NFL Draft for the website.

Leave a Reply

Connect with

I allow to create an account

When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.

DisagreeAgree

This comment form is under antispam protection

This comment form is under antispam protection

Subscribe

Notify of

Downtown Rams Podcast

Please leave this field empty

First name

Email *

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.